Interlaken, Switzerland: The Great Outdoors

Guten Tag! And what a beautiful day it is, I must say. The skies are blue, the birds are chirping (they just flew in for spring), and I am stuck in, yes you guessed it, THEOLOGY! But I really can’t complain too much, it gives me time to write to all you readers about my Swiss adventures. 

 This past weekend, about 12 people in our group of 20 traveled to Switzerland for a weekend in the great outdoors. But let’s start with Friday. I went running very early in the morning, I’m talkin 5 a.m. early. Get home, wash my clothes, take them out, and feel something in the pocket of my running jacket. OH yes, it’s my iPod. Sweet start to the day. Take a German midterm I barely studied for (yet ended up getting an A on somehow?), and head to the train for our 7-hour ride to Switzerland. I took a sleep aid because I wanted to completely knock out on the train ride, as I had not slept a wink the night before. Beware: German sleep aids are a heck of a lot stronger than Tylenol P.M. I slept pretty soundly on the first train, and our connection was only supposed to be about 10 minutes long, but thanks to the strikes of the German train conductors, we had to wait two hours before boarding our second train. I was completely out of it thanks to my sleep aid, however, and when we found a café to hang out at, I put my head down on the table and passed out. I couldn’t even form sentences when I woke up; I think all I could say was “flegenstenand.” So essentially, nothing. During my delirium, my backpack containing a bottle of wine dropped on the ground and the bottle broke, creating a nice wine pool in my backpack and cracking my $400 Garmin running watch (but thankfully it’s still working). Does this sound like a good day to you yet? Don’t worry, I somehow end up in Switzerland, so you know it has to end well. 

 We arrived at our hostel at around 10 p.m., and I decided it had been too long of a day to go out, so I promptly went to bed. Plus, it was Interlaken. Famous for its outdoorsy activities, not for its raging nightlife. Saturday morning we all woke up early for our adventurous day. A handful of people went skydiving (which I just don’t have the balls for, I’ll be the first to admit that), but I went paragliding! I thought it would be less frightening to glide over the town than to fall rapidly from the sky towards it. We dressed in some really ADORABLE snow gear, courtesy of Outdoor Interlaken, and were taken to a top of a mountain that we were supposed to run off of. After a quick lesson on what to do, my instructor hooked me up the parachute and to himself, and told me to start jogging. Of course, I stumbled a bit, but I inevitably made it off the mountain and into the sky. It was a truly exhilarating experience, and I really got to enjoy the view. Interlaken is absolutely stunning, and, little piece of knowledge: its name comes from the fact that the city is set in between two lakes. Hence: Inter-laken. You learn something new every day. 

 After paragliding, we went back to our hostel, which honestly, was more of a hotel, and met up with the rest of the brave skydivers. We took a walk around the city, got some chocolate (Belgian chocolate is WAYYYY better), and then I went for a run around the city. 

 

Then as a group, we decided to go night sledding. I’ve never sledded before, and I can tell you from experience: don’t have half a bottle of wine before sledding. I thought it would be easy: sled down a hill, fall off, end of story. But apparently we signed up for ULTRA-sporty-advanced-sledding, and they took us on a pretty gnarly sled run. I couldn’t figure out how to steer the damn thing, and every time I tried going left I went right and vice a little versa. There were two guides, one that rode in the front and one that rode in the back. The guy in the back was patient with me and waited as I fell off my sled multiple times, but I’m sure I annoyed him with my constant “I HATE SLEDDING” mumbles. While it was a little frustrating, in hindsight it was a cool experience. We even got off the track for a bit to check out a frozen waterfall. At the end of the run was a traditional Swiss restaurant, where we warmed up and got Swiss fondue! It was part of the price of the sledding, and I was impressed that we also got a salad and potatoes with egg. I know, sounds weird, but it was pretty yummy and I was happy after eating. We even met some other Americans and got to know them, which is always fun.

Once again, I had a much needed relaxing evening. Sunday morning, Bianca and I went horseback riding (it was obviously her idea), but I ended up having a great time. I hadn’t been on a horse for maybe ten years, and it was a little weird finding my balance and getting used to the feel of it. I got the hang of it kind of quickly, and we took a ride through the forest, which was absolutely beautiful. I even trotted on the horse and let me tell you: it’s harder than it looks! Newfound respect for horseback riders. I could only do it for about 30 seconds at a time, otherwise I probably would have fallen off. (Laugh at the picture all you want -- it's just proof I was on a horse!)

 Afterward, we took it easy at the hostel for a few hours and then got on our long train ride back to Bonn. Bianca and I made it home pretty easily. Sans sleeping aids too, thank goodness. I left Interlaken with a bit of a heavy heart. It was hard to leave; it was so beautiful. But I brought back souvenirs (for my loved ones), and I have my memories. I’ll definitely be going back though, one day. I also came to the conclusion that I have seen some of the most beautiful places on God’s green earth, and for that I am so thankful. I can’t wait to travel more and eventually see the world! 

So, that’s it for my weekend. Up next: Karneval! Karneval is a REALLY big celebration here in Germany. It’s kind of like Mardi Gras; it’s the last major celebration before lent and the usually-proper Germans tend to get more than a little crazy. There are big parades, lots of drinking, and 5 days of celebration. I’m excited to experience more of the German culture. Friday, we’re off to Paris for three days and then back here for Monday’s HUGE Karneval celebration. You’ll want to tune in next week, I’m going to have a lot of stories!  See you then ;]